Insomnia
by mindmelda
Summary: What happens when Duo can't sleep?


Title: Insomnia  
  
Author: Gina Lin Melton  
  
Pairing: 2+5(Maybe?)  
  
Archive:  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Humor/ touch of angst  
  
Duo looked at the luminous numbers on the bedside clock. 2:00 a.m.  
  
"Insomnia sucks ass," he thought, punching his pillow into a different shape. He knew it wouldn't help much. Neither did hot milk, or counting sheep or sleeping in a different position or any of those other lame remedies that everyone recommends.  
  
He hadn't slept more than a few hours a night in a week.  
  
It was the nightmares.  
  
"Might as well not lay here and suffer," he thought, sitting up and shifting his feet over the edge of the bed.  
  
"Maybe there's something decent on TV, an old horror flick or somethin."  
  
He wandered out into the living room in his boxers and t-shirt.  
  
"What are you doing up?"  
  
Duo looked up. Wufei was sitting on one end of the sofa, cross-legged with a book opened in his lap. His reading glasses were perched on the end of his nose.  
  
"Can't sleep. What're you doin' up?  
  
"It's quiet and I need to study, if you must know," replied Wufei irritably.  
  
"Care if I watch a little telly?" asked Duo, grabbing the remote and flinging himself down on the other end of the sofa. He clicked on the TV and started channel surfing.  
  
"Would it matter if I said 'no'?" muttered Wufei, closing his book with a sigh.  
  
"Hey, Wu-man, you like horror movies?" said Duo, still surfing.  
  
"No," said Wufei, shortly.  
  
"It figures," said Duo, rolling his eyes.  
  
"My name is 'Wufei', not Wu-man, or Wu-chan, or any other idiotic appellation you might be thinking of calling me next," said Wufei, taking off his glasses and folding them.  
  
"I love it when you use the big words, Wu-man," said Duo, grinning at him.  
  
Wufei sighed.  
  
"Hey, I'm gonna make hot chocolate and popcorn, you want some?" asked Duo, getting up.  
  
Wufei shrugged and nodded. "All right."  
  
As soon as Duo left for the kitchen, he grabbed the remote and found a science program.  
  
"You like marshmall...?" Duo trailed off, coming back in the room, holding two cups of cocoa and a bag of popcorn.  
  
"Hey, what happened to the vampires?"  
  
"I don't know how you stand to can watch that drivel," said Wufei, quickly hiding the remote under his leg.  
  
Duo put the cups on the coffee table and sat down, holding out his hand.  
  
"Gimme the remote."  
  
"No."  
  
"No fair! I had it first!"  
  
"Are you accusing me of being unfair?" asked Wufei, his voice raising.  
  
"I just want the remote back!"  
  
"Are you going to turn on that crap again?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Then, no!"  
  
Duo leapt at him. "Where is it!?" he yelled, grabbing the other man by the wrists. "I bet you're sitting on it!"  
  
"Ack! What are you doing?"  
  
Duo snaked one hand under Wufei's thigh. "Got it!" he said triumphantly, flinging himself to the other end of the couch.  
  
Duo started flipping through the channels.  
  
"Ah, shit, I can't find it now!" he said in frustration.  
  
"Maxwell?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"CATCH!"  
  
Duo looked up in time to get hit in the face with a hot bag of popcorn.  
  
"OW! You asshole!" he yelled, juggling the bag a little before setting it down.  
  
"You are so dead!" he yelled, as Wufei ran sniggering around to the other side of the couch, putting it between himself and the now irritable Duo.  
  
"Oh, come on, Maxwell," said Wufei. "You pissed me off, I pissed you off, we're even."  
  
Duo scowled at him. "Only if I get to watch the vampire movie," he said stubbornly.  
  
Wufei held up his hands. "Okay, I need to go to bed anyway."  
  
"Come on, Wu, sit up with me a while?" wheedled Duo, shifting tactics suddenly.  
  
"Are you having those nightmares again?" asked Wufei, taking his seat at the end of the sofa again.  
  
"Yeah," Duo muttered.  
  
"Maybe you ought to get some pills, or see a doctor or something" suggested Wufei, picking up the now cooled cocoa and taking a sip.  
  
"I don't want any damn pills," growled Duo, picking up the remote and looking for the movie again. "I just want to go to sleep like everyone else!"  
  
"You mean like me?" said Wufei, giving him a sideways look.  
  
"Whaddya mean?" said Duo, taking a long drink from his cup.  
  
"I don't sleep so well myself, some nights," said Wufei.  
  
"I thought you were studying."  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Found it!" said Duo, settling back to watch the movie he'd been searching for.  
  
He flicked his eyes over at Wufei, who was quietly sipping his cocoa.  
  
"You have them too?" he asked, suddenly.  
  
"Nightmares?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Occasionally."  
  
"Oh. What do you do?"  
  
"I read."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Duo."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why don't you go get a blanket and see if you can't at least get some sleep out here on the sofa?"  
  
"Good idea."  
  
He went to retrieve a blanket and his pillow and came back.  
  
He propped the pillow up on the armrest of the sofa and put his head down, facing the flicker images on the television.  
  
"Hey, Wu, cover up my feet, will ya?"  
  
Wufei rolled his eyes but pulled the blanket down over Duo's feet and tucked it under them.  
  
"Am I bothering you?" asked Duo.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh, sorry."  
  
"Forget about it."  
  
"No, really, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay, just try to go to sleep."  
  
Duo shifted around, trying to get comfortable, and finally the wiggling ceased.  
  
Silence, except for the faint noise coming from the television.  
  
"Wufei?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ever notice that vampires are always really hot looking?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You mean you never noticed?"  
  
"No, I never watch vampire movies. Until now."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you even trying to go to sleep?"  
  
"No, not really." Sigh.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Wufei?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you gonna go to bed?"  
  
"No, not yet."  
  
"It's okay, you can go."  
  
"No point." Shrugging.  
  
"Can't sleep either?"  
  
"No." Sigh.  
  
"Wufei?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What were you reading?"  
  
"'The Art of War'."  
  
"Shit, don't you get enough of that in real life?"  
  
"It's really about political philosophy as well as military strategy."  
  
"Oh. Whatever."  
  
"You should read it."  
  
"Yeah, maybe it'll put me to sleep." Duo snorted.  
  
"Didn't work too well for me." Wufei grinned faintly.  
  
"I noticed."  
  
Duo rolled restlessly over onto his back and kicked Wufei in the knee. "Hey, that's my knee you're kicking."  
  
"Sorry!"  
  
"Be still!"  
  
"I can't!"  
  
"Try!"  
  
"I am trying!"  
  
"Not very hard!"  
  
"I can't help it if I can't sleep!"  
  
Exhale. "I know."  
  
"Duo, come here and sit on the floor in front of me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sit up, I think I know something that will help."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
Sighing, Duo grabbed his pillow and sat on the floor in front of Wufei.  
  
"What're you going to do?'  
  
"I'm going to massage your neck."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It relaxes you, stupid!"  
  
"Oh.....Okay."  
  
"Put your head down a little. There, like that."  
  
Wufei put his hands on Duo's neck and shoulders. Gently, he began to massage the tense muscles.  
  
"Wow, that feels great! I mean it's kind of weird you doing it, but it feels great."  
  
"Are you getting more relaxed?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Wufei?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where'd you learn to do this?"  
  
"My mother used to do this for me when I was a kid."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Duo yawned.  
  
"Wow, I feel really sleepy now, thanks."  
  
"Good. Duo?"  
  
Duo got up and stretched, and stretched back down on the sofa.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Don't tell anyone I did that."  
  
"You mean that you massaged my neck?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
".....Okay. How much?"  
  
"How much what?"  
  
"How much will you give me to be quiet?"  
  
"Injustice!"  
  
"Just kidding, man, don't go ballistic!"  
  
Growling. "Go to sleep!"  
  
Drowsy murmuring.  
  
Five minutes later. Snoring.  
  
Wufei was watching the end of the vampire movie.  
  
Out loud to himself. "Hm, vampires ARE really hot."  
  
Wufei reached over and clicks off the TV with the remote control and wearily closed his eyes.  
  
Next morning.....  
  
Wufei opened his eyes and realized Duo was spooned up against him and they're both under the blanket. His arm is around Duo.  
  
Duo stirs. "What?"  
  
Snickering and whispering.  
  
Duo looked up. Quatre and Trowa were looking at him and Wufei. With big grins on their faces.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
He jumped up and ran to his room and slammed the door.  
  
Wufei stood up. "Excuse me," he said with as much dignity as possible, then made a break to his room.  
  
Quatre and Trowa burst out laughing.  
  
The End 


End file.
